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Imagine Dragons

Night Visions

Written by: HES on 20/05/2013 14:04:33

Las Vegas-based Imagine Dragons broke through the soundsphere with their massive hit ”Radioactive” and has ever since been a regular guest at indie-oriented radio stations. "Night Visions" is only their debut but their name is upon the lips of the big shots in the industry. The song “Radioactive” is a mix of good old indie rock, but with a twist of electronic elements like dubstep snares and anthemic Anglo-Saxon folk as lead singer Dan Reynolds sings “Welcome to the new age”. But is this really a new age in indie?

Second single and first track of the album “It’s time” is a great follow up to “Radioactive”, but a bit less characteristic. The song has a great hook and the finger-play of the guitar creates a recognizable backdrop. However, this song is more “old age” and a little bit of a let-down after the genre-destabilising “Radioactive”. Unfortunately this is a general theme of this album. I don’t know if my expectations were too pumped up or the rest of the album is simply toothless in comparison.

However – if you judge the album as a stadium-rock album with no big surprises and truck-loads of sing-a-long hooks, it’s more successful. “Tiptoe” is a great but borderline generic rock song but again the chorus saves the day. Dan Reynolds great voice is also a big save for this album. The vulnerability when he hits the high notes adds extra dimension to an otherwise slightly tame soundscape. The positivity of the rest of the album is in sharp contrast to the dystopian feel of “Radioactive”. “On Top of the World” is a regular splash of good mood.

I find myself singing along to most of the songs after the first spin and this speaks volume of the actual quality of the song-writing on this album. However this does not make up for the lethargic use of rhythm guitar and drums often following each other blindly. I understand that the band has probably wanted other elements to stand a bit out by doing this, but it’s not enough to carry it all the way. This being said I see a lot of potential in the band if they dare take more risks and keep writing pop-songs of this quality. For now though they are borderlining the mainstream.

Download: Radioactive, Amsterdam, It’s time
For The Fans Of: Kings of Leon, The Killers, Walk The Moon
Listen: facebook.com/ImagineDragons

Release Date 04.09.2012
Interscope